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Boulder County residents quizzed about agriculture

By John Fryar

Times-Call staff writer

Posted:
04/19/2014 05:13:13 PM MDT

Updated:
04/19/2014 05:19:11 PM MDT

Erin Dreistadt with Aspen Moon Farm places greens in a bag for a customer on the first day of the Longmont Farmer's Market at the Boulder County Fairgrounds. A recent poll said that Boulder County is committed to the production of locally grown food for local markets.
(David R. Jennings)

It's important to increase local food production because farms and ranches help preserve Boulder County's agricultural land, according to many of the people surveyed in a recent poll.

Many of the Boulder County residents also told pollsters from Talmey-Drake Research and Strategy Inc. that it's important for Boulder County's economic development to support local farmers and create markets for the food and crops they produce.

If You Go

What: Boulder County commissioners will review the county's environmental sustainability programs, including those that promote agriculture and local food production modes, and will hold a public hearing about whether to place a sustainability tax on this fall's election ballots to fund the continuation and expansion of those programs.

County programs intended to promote agriculture are among a variety of environmental sustainability programs to be reviewed by the Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday afternoon,

That meeting will include a public hearing about the current and future funding of those programs, and the possibility the commissioners may ask voters this fall for a new sustainability tax.

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"Boulder County is committed to the production of locally grown food for local markets," county sustainability coordinator Susie Strife wrote in a memo for Tuesday's meeting.

About 25,000 acres of county-owned open space land are leased to 90 tenants "as productive agricultural properties," Strife said.

Strife said Boulder County is on track to achieving its goal of having at least 20 percent of its leased open-space lands in organic production by 2020. She said that in addition to the 1,500 acres of county-owned ag land that's now certified or in transition to organic, another 400 acres will soon shift to organic under a recently approved lease.

Talmey-Drake said in its report that "the local and organic food movement is growing nationally and is particularly strong in Boulder County. And promoting more locally grown, and more locally grown organic, food is a key ingredient of sustainable living."

The county-commissioned survey asked people to rank — on a scale of zero to 10 — each of several possible reasons that agriculture and increased local food production has benefits. A zero meant it was not at all important to the person polled, and a 10 meant it was extremely important to that person.

The results:

• Farming and ranching's benefits in helping preserve farmland got an average rank of 7.2.

• The benefit of increasing local food production to help promote the county's economic development by supporting local farmers and creating markets for the food and crops they produce got an average score of 7.1.

• The survey's suggestion that increased local food production will help protect the environment — "because food grown locally and organically reduces carbon emissions as well as pesticide use" — got an average importance rank of 6.4.

• The poll's suggestion that increased local food production helps supports farmers' markets, bringing Boulder County residents together and creating a stronger sense of community, also got an average importance rank of 6.4.

• A suggestion that local food production is important because it "helps provide an educational opportunity to teach Boulder County's youth about local foods, sustainable agriculture and healthier eating habits" also got a 6.4 score.

• The poll's suggestion that agriculture is important because it "helps adults and children get access to locally grown food, which is more likely to be fresher and more nutrient than other food trucked into Boulder County supermarkets," got a 6.2 score.

Talmey-Drake said in its report to the county commissioners that "the local and organic food movement is growing nationally and is particularly strong in Boulder County. And promoting more locally grown, and more locally grown organic, food is a key ingredient of sustainable living."

Pollsters told the Boulder County people surveyed that county money is limited for funding different environmental sustainability programs and asked people to rank their priorities for funding such programs.

One of the top scores, 6.3, went to putting a priority on county spending on "programs and infrastructure to increase the amount of food grown locally and organically, as well as the number of farmers' markets where local food can be sold."

On a separate question, 58 percent of those polled said they'd be more likely to vote for a new county sustainability tax if part of the money collected were to be spent on assisting local farmers to grow more organic food for Boulder County residents.

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